Lady Blue (TV series)

Lady Blue is an American detective and action-adventure television series that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network. Created by Robert Vincent O'Neil and produced by David Gerber, with cinematography by Jack Priestley, the episodes were filmed on location in Chicago. It was picked as a series after ABC aired a two-hour television film pilot on April 15, 1985 and the series aired from September 15, 1985, to January 25, 1986 after which it was cancelled by ABC after 13 episodes. The show revolves around Chicago detective Katy Mahoney (Jamie Rose) and her violent methods of handling cases. The supporting cast includes Danny Aiello, Ron Dean, Diane Dorsey, Bruce A. Young, Nan Woods, and Ricardo Gutierrez. Johnny Depp also guest-starred on the series in one of his earliest roles. Television critics noted Lady Blue's emphasis on violence, calling Mahoney "Dirty Harriet" (after Clint Eastwood's character Dirty Harry). Rose said she joined the project after being drawn to its genre. She prepared for the role by watching Eastwood's films, received advice from Eastwood on how to handle a gun, and practiced at a shooting range. After the pilot aired, Lady Blue was criticized by several watchdog organizations (particularly the National Coalition on Television Violence) as the most violent show on television. After the fourth episode, ABC placed it on hiatus for a month, moved the series from Thursdays to Saturdays, then canceled it in early 1986, partially due to the complaints about excessive violence. Critical reception to the series was primarily negative during its run, but television studies author Cary O'Dell questions whether that stemmed from contemporary sexism. The series' rights are owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which has not released Lady Blue on DVD, Blu-ray, nor any online streaming service.